Suffering from MIGRAINES.

I wanted to do a slightly different post today because I know that a lot of people, I am sure some of my lovely readers too, just like myself suffer from terrible migraines. I wanted to share my story in hopes of helping someone else. I suffer from chronic migraines and have been from the age of 16.

What are migraines?

It is an intense throbbing or a pulsing sensation (pain) most commonly on one area of the head and often times accompanied by nausea, extreme sensitivity to light and noise.

It occurs when blood vessels in your brain constrict and then dilate. At first not enough blood can pass through, and then too much. It is that intense pressure that causes that disabling pain.

How do you know if it’s migraine or tension/stress or any other headache?

Migraines THROB, it’s often one sided, you can have nausea , vision problems . Regular headaches are not accompanied with all of these other symptoms. They don’t throb, they’re more of a pressure and dull pain.

How long does the migraine last?

Migraines can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours. My longest migraine was 3 days! I thought I was going to DIE!!!!Sometimes you can get warning signs that you are getting a migraine a few days before, by tingling sensations in your arms, sharp sudden pain your head, weird cravings, irritability. I definitely get the cravings, anything sweet!

What causes migraines?

Well, it’s genetic and environmental. No one knows exactly but it’s a combination of factors. For me personally, ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING can trigger an attack.
But the main things are skipping meals, if I go hungry that is a definite migraine giver, STRESS for sure, if I cry really hard and I am upset, MIGRAINE. Smoke and cold weather.

Migraines have 4 stagesalthough you may not experience all. But here they are :

1 stage: Prodrome: 1 or 2 days before you get food cravings, depression, uncontrollable yawning (this happens to me all the time, as if my brain is oxygen deprived)

2 stage: Aura: I don’t get this but this would be visual disturbances, flashes of light and verbal disturbances

3 stage: Attack: This is the actual migraine lasting anywhere from a few hours to few days

4 stage: Postdrome: This is when it’s over but it leaves you drained and washed out. You literally feel as if all your energy was sucked out . I normally feel like a zombie here lol.

I cannot explain what migraine pain feels like. It is the most terrible annoying handicapping pain. Normally when something hurts you can suck it up and get through the day but with migraines, YOU CANNOT. No matter how much you want to and try to go on about your day, it holds you back. You cannot do anything. You are handicapped. All you can think about is that pain. I feel like dying. My migraines are terrible. After it’s done I feel relieved but I am totally washed out. I can’t speak or lift my hands. I feel like someone sucked life out of me… but I am glad the pain is over.

Here are some things that I do to ease my pain that help:

I am not going to tell you what pills to take . I do have special migraine medication and I also take some regular pain killers but I don’t like to promote that so instead here are some “home remedies”

– SLEEPhelps. It’s hard to fall asleep but try to find a comofortable position in a dark place and fall asleep. Regular rest , proper sleeping habits also help.

– ACTIVITY – exercise, do yoga, walk, stay healthy. This will minimize your attacks. It did for me. I went from migraines 3 days a week to once a month by regulating my lifestyle.

– DURING THE ATTACK: Apply gentle pressure to the spot where the pain is. Have someone rub and massage your head and your neck. It will do wonders! The massage will regulate the blood flow. This helps me the most and puts me to sleep.
Secondly, concentrate on your breathing. Deep slow breath in and pace yourself when you are breathing out. Repeat.

Let me know if you suffer from migraines and anything you may do that helps. I am always willing to try, seriously during that pain I’d even put shit on my head if it will help lol.

Yes definitely, advil gel capsules help a lot. I just did not want to promote that in my blog lol
Ice pack does not work for me. I know for a lot of people coffee is a trigger but for me it also helps me a lot.
I also crave pop when I have a migraine. I feel all that carbonated stuff helps with nausea.
THanks for stopping by!

I get those lovely once in a while period migraines. I will admit, I don’t think they are nearly as bad as yours, but sometimes I fall asleep with it and wake up in the same pain 😦 I feel helpless as it seems to be hormonal.

Nina I know how long you have suffered with these and how they really mess with you, the numerous tests, doc visits, scans, etc. But hopefully the wisdom teeth removal will also lessen the frequency and duration!

I remember the first time I had a migraine attack. My fingers tingled, then they went numb and the next thing I saw was a rainbow-coloured paisley patterned thing dazzling right in front of my eyes. Back then I had no idea and I thought I was having a stroke!
The strange pains in my head and feeling sick didn’t really help either…
Sleeping as much as I can is the best remedy for me. I try to eat as healthy as possible which is tough really as I love Coke and chocolate way too much.